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LATEST: Jogger killed by naked man in park was 35-year-old Swiss woman

The jogged killed by a naked man who was attacking people in a park near Zurich was a 35-year-old local Swiss woman, police revealed on Thursday.

LATEST: Jogger killed by naked man in park was 35-year-old Swiss woman
Police responded quickly to the crime area. Photo by Dirk Martins on Unsplash

The attack happened on Tuesday evening in Mannedorf on Lake Zurich, around 20 kilometres southeast of Switzerland’s largest city, the Zurich cantonal police said.

A 19-year-old suspect has been arrested.

“On Tuesday evening a woman was attacked and fatally injured by a man in Mannedorf,” police said, adding that the woman had been out jogging.

On Thursday, authorities identified the victim as “a 35-year-old Swiss woman.” No further details have been given, though the Swiss media said her name was Anna, and she lived in the neighbourhood.

The man confessed during questioning by the public prosecutor, but no motive has so far been established.

“Shortly before 8:00 pm (1800 GMT), passers-by reported a man in Alma Park who was running around naked, screaming and physically attacking other people.

“The emergency services who quickly arrived on site found a seriously injured woman lying on the ground.

“Despite immediate resuscitation, the woman died from her serious injuries.

“The suspected perpetrator, a 19-year-old Swiss, who was also found on site, was arrested by the police.”

The man confessed to killing the jogger during questioning by the public prosecutor. He has no previous police record for violent crimes in the canton of Zurich.

“Due to the ongoing criminal proceedings and for reasons of privacy protection, no further information can currently be disclosed beyond the content of this media release,” police added.

‘He stripped naked and screamed’

An eyewitness Nebojsa Dimic described the chaotic scene in the park to Swiss media.

He said that the alleged perpetrator “initially sat peacefully with his girlfriend by the lake. But suddenly I heard him scream.”

The man calmed down briefly, but then ran into the woods.

“He took off his clothes there and started screaming again.”

Dimic said he then alerted the police. Later, screams from women and cars honking could be heard.

Alma Park, where the murder happened, is known as a place for summer picnics.

The small, grassy park dotted with trees was open to the public on Wednesday, with two police officers standing on the lakeside path near the scene of the attack.

After police questioning, the arrested suspect will be referred to the public prosecutor for serious violent crime, the police said.

Police told Switzerland’s Keystone-ATS news agency that the attacker lightly injured a second person, while it was still unknown whether the perpetrator used a weapon.

The Zurich Forensic Science Institute, the leading body for forensic expertise in Switzerland, collected evidence, the police said, while Zurich University’s Institute of Forensic Medicine is also involved in the investigation.

Fire crews, an ambulance, and emergency doctor and the air rescue service were also called in, the police said.

A German-speaking village, Mannedorf has nearly 12,000 residents, according to the latest government statistics, and is overlooked by a white-painted Reformed church.

Next to a harbour, Alma Park surrounds the Villa Alma, a neo-Gothic residence built for the industrialist Emil Staub, who expanded the family business into Switzerland’s most important leather production plant.

It was named after his wife, who lived there until her death in 1970, outliving her husband by 41 years. It was sold by her heirs and is now used as a retirement home.

With reporting from AFP

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TRAVEL NEWS

’25km of conveyor belts’: Zurich Airport completes new ‘reliable’ baggage system

The handling of passenger luggage will “function reliably in the future” at Zurich international airport, authorities say thanks to a new system that features 25 km of conveyor belts. It only took 7 years to build...

'25km of conveyor belts': Zurich Airport completes new 'reliable' baggage system

Seven years after the project began, the new, largely underground facility that will “effectively sort” some 30,000 pieces of luggage ‘transiting’ through the airport every day, airport’s management said on Tuesday.

(Up to 50,000 are handled on peak-travel days).

The new facility includes 25 km of conveyor belts, 5,500 motors, and 5,600 sensors. Sorting is controlled in accordance with the new rules in force in the European Union.

Why is this important for passengers?

Being centrally located, Zurich is among the main hubs in Europe for air travel, with nearly 30 million people flying into, from, or transiting through this airport.

Fast and efficient  luggage handling service is therefore essential.

The new baggage sorting system has replaced the old one, whose parts had reached the end of their lifecycle.

“Construction projects at such critical infrastructure of our airport must be realised while operations are ongoing and are accordingly challenging,” said Lydia Naef, the airport’s Chief Real Estate Officer.

As for Stefan Tschudin, Chief Operation Officer of Flughafen Zürich AG, he emphasised that “with the new technology, Zurich Airport ensures that baggage allocation will continue to function reliably in the future. This is essential for smooth operations of the entire flight process.”

The old sorting system will be permanently decommissioned this fall. 

But while the main phase of the project will be completed by then, the entire replacement of the old system is expected to be completed by 2027.

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